My wish for you is to Live Better, Strive Harder, Be Bolder, Dream Bigger, Climb Higher and Seek Greater.
My vision is to help people create food that is delicious, easy to make and high in nutrition, so that food once more becomes a vehicle to fuel your body, mind and soul.
‘I watch cooking change the cook, just as it transforms the food’
This is from ‘what goes with what’ a great and very easy recipe book. I made this recipe for the Rye Library Book Club. Everyone who made a recipe said that it was easier than they expected and more flavourful. I completely underestimated this recipe and recipe book as everything looked so simple.
Taste and ease are essential and so ironically it ended up being one of the favourite books of the year so far. As always, I picked a vegetarian, gluten free dish. You can thin the dish down to make a soup or keep it as a stew. Or as we enter summer, compliment it with your grilled food. Mr B happily ate it just as it was, Baby B with a little pastina.
Ingredients:
1 large head of fennel
¼ cup EVOO
6 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp. fennel seeds
1 15oz can white bean, or cooked fresh
1 28oz can whole peeled tomatoes
½ cup vegetable broth
Method
Cut the fronds off the fennel and keep to the side as a garnish
Thinly slice the stalks, disregarding any hard parts
Place the oil in a large heavy-set pot, heat over a medium-low heat, add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds.
Add the beans, tomatoes and vegetable broth with a large pinch of salt (c.1/2 tsp).
Turn the heat to high and bring to the boil
Mix and bring to the simmer for c. 20minutes or until the fennel is soft
Taste and add more salt if needed
Add pepper and/or chilli flakes if you’d like
Serve with garlic bread (GF), polenta or rice/pasta
‘The culmination of one love, one dream, oneself, is the anonymous seed for the next’.
There is very little difference between burying and planting. For often, we need to put dead things to rest, so new life can grow. Further than that, the thing we put to rest, whether it be a loved one, a dream, or a false way of seeing becomes the fertilizer for the life about to form. The broken dream fertilizes the dream yet conceived, that painful way we release from frees an inner stance ready to bloom.
This is why we Ayurveda we recommend detox, especially in the transitionary seasons of spring and April. As we change our winter and summer clothes, we can think of this as a parallel for our lives. What do we need to change to be free to live a better, healthier life.
If you need assistance for your autumn detox, consider our next renew retreat in October, join our waiting list, now open and filling up fast.
This recipe was adapted from Magnolia Table Volume 3. I veganized it by using cashew cheese. I used it as a canape on some dehydrated porcini crackers and some croutons I made from my homemade, gluten free, yeast free bread.
Ingredients:
8 ounces cashew cheese at room temperature
1 1/2 cups finely chopped toasted pecans
1 cup chopped dried figs {dates can be used as a substitute}
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon chopped chives
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
Crackers or fresh sourdough bread, for serving
Method
In a medium bowl, stir together the cream cheese, half of the pecans, the figs, honey, rosemary, chives, garlic, salt and pepper until combined.
On a plate, spread out the remaining pecans.
Using your hands, form the cheese mixture into a ball and roll it in the pecans to fully coat the outside.
Cover the cheese ball with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
When ready to serve, remove the plastic wrap and place it on a plate. Serve whole or cut in quarters, with crackers or bread.
Store in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
‘Soup puts the heart at ease, calms down the violence of hunger, eliminates the tension of the day and awakens the appetite’
I adapted this recipe from Amy Chaplin’s, Whole Food Cooking. I liked the idea of hazelnuts in soup and had a butternut squash from my father in laws garden that needed eating before he came over for Easter. It was a lovely addition, thickening the soup as well as giving it an extra depth of flavour. Adding hazelnuts to the top for a textural contrast was also a delicious treat.
I recently spent the weekend in Cold Springs with some lovely guests cooking for 8 people in total. It was a retreat where the focus was renewal. My focus therefore was to keep the food easy on the digestion. When our digestion is at ease, our bodies have the chance to focus elsewhere and renew other organs and systems.
I featured a beluga lentil and miso soup, Kitchari (rice and lentil soup) and date banana oatmeal. I included quinoa in stock with market vegetables for lunch, when the digestion was strongest. The comments I received from the guests was that the food felt nurturing and helped with a good night’s sleep.
My style of cooking is consistent with the Ayurvedic principles of good digestion following the sun as the indication of how strong your Agni is (digestive fire). Light breakfast, bigger lunch and lighter dinner. All food was nutritionally dense so without overeating you feel satiated.
I learnt these principles when I studied for my Ayurvedic Practitioner qualification and really lived it when working at Divya’s Kitchen in Manhattan. Cooking and eating the food she designed around these principles. I was pregnant during my externship working in the kitchen in the summer so was energy deficient and Divya’s food gave me strength to replenish my energy reserves and more.
This is what food should do; it should strengthen and nourish you.
Divya was kind enough to give our guests her Balanced Kitchari to help them along on their Ayurvedic journey after the retreat. She has also offered us and you a 20% discount code till the end of the month. Just use PLANTTOTABLE on check out.
Ingredients
2 tbsp. EV Coconut Oil
4 Shallots, small dice
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
2 tsp. pink Himalayan salt
1 large squash, peeled, seeded and chopped
5 cups water
Hazelnut Milk
2/3 cup raw hazelnuts, toasted
2 cups water
Method
Toast the hazelnuts at 300F for 10 minutes, let cool
Warm the oil in a pot at a medium heat, add the shallots and a pinch of salt. Cook for a few minutes until starting to soften, add the garlic, rosemary and rest of the salt, stir often. Cook for another 1 minute or so, do not let the garlic burn.
Add the squash and water. Bring to a boil and then down to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the squash is tender.
Whilst the soup is cooking, place the cooled hazelnuts in an upright blender and blend with the water until smooth. Set aside
Once the soup is cooked, check for seasoning. Add some salt and if you like some freshly ground pepper.
Let cool a little and then blend in a blender or use an immersion blender to create a smooth texture.
Add the hazelnut milk and taste again for seasoning.
Serve with a sprinkle of crushed hazelnuts and EVOO.
‘Work when there is work to do. Rest when you are tired. One thing done in peace will most likely be better than ten things done in panic…I am not a hero if I deny rest; I am only tired…’
This week has been one of those weeks. Baby B was home for six days, three of those with a 104 temperature from an unknown virus. I slept on the floor most of those nights and have yet to sleep a full night in my bed for over a week. I am exhausted to say the least of it and on top of that I am behind on all work fronts. Being behind can get me panicky, not wanting to let any of my amazing partners down. It is in this place that I realise I need to surrender and rest, because I can never be at my best in this state.
It is a life lesson, when you are under pressure to learn to surrender, when something is intense to learn to create some space, when there is pressure to do, to be instead. It is in this lesson, in this gap, in this space however that I always find something beautiful revealing itself. In the quiet surrender, I suddenly find new inspiration for my work and perhaps I even do a better job without the pressure I put on myself.
So, if you feel busy, find more space. If you are tired, rest. From this place of being, your true self will be revealed, and you will learn the beauty within.
Retreat update: We are currently offering a 25% spring discount on day passes as well as the full weekend. Contact me for the discount code. We would also like to thank our aligned partners. So far, we have gifts from Aesop, A Sustainable Village, Pink Olive and we are getting ready to pick up gifts from Divya’s Kitchen, Banyan Botanicals, Root2Rise and Cold Spring Coffeehouse. Many of the brands are female or LGBTQ majority owned, dedicated to sustainability, the greater good, inner beauty and radiant health.
The recipe This cookie has a lot of slow releasing energy and so makes for a great breakfast cookie or energy sustaining snack. It is high in protein, vitamins and fibre. When you make it, you’ll find the date mixture a revelation. It is the binder and moisture to the cookie, but you could very well eat it by the spoonful.
Ingredients
• 2 cups rolled oats divided • ¾ cup raw sunflower seeds divided • ¼ cup raisins or dried cranberries • ¼ cup chia • ¼ cup pepitas • 1 teaspoon cinnamon • ½ teaspoon sea salt • ½ teaspoon baking soda • ½ cup soft dates • ¼ cup coconut oil • ¼ cup non-dairy milk
Method
Preheat the oven to 350F and grease or line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place 1 cup of the oats and 1/2 cup of the sunflower seeds into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Mix on high for a minute or two, until a coarse flour forms.
Place the flour into a large bowl and stir in the remaining oats, sunflower seeds, raisins, chia, pepitas, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda.
Blend the dates, coconut oil, and milk in the food processor until the dates have broken down and a paste forms.
Add this to the oat mixture and use your hands to mix very well, until fully combined. There should be no streaks of flour remaining.
Form 10 large balls with the dough, each about a heaping 1/4 cup in size. Press them with your hands to flatten to about 3 cm (1 in.) high and place onto the prepared baking sheet.
Repeat until all of the dough has been used.
Bake for 13-15 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are golden.
Remove from the oven and cool for about ten minutes on the baking sheet before removing and cooling fully on a rack. They’ll be a little fragile until they’re completely cool.
Store in a sealed container on the counter for up to three days or freeze for up to a month.
‘If you truly hold a stone, you can feel the mountain it came from’
People have always saved scrapes of their experience to help remind them of the forces of life that can’t always be seen. Filled with the timeless rhythm of the ocean, we pocket a shell and carry it thousands of miles to know the presence of the ocean when we are hours from the sea.
The day I found out I was pregnant I searched for something connected to my grandma, to wear. To me it symbolised her looking over me with protection. I was lucky enough to find a necklace with a picture of her guru, a little key and a small anchor. In moments of sadness or anxiety they serve as a deeper sense of love and support and contain a plenitude of messages and memories for me that I can draw upon when needed.
Food is also a form of symbolism. Specific recipes are linked to childhood memories, to first dates, destinations and conversations. The soothing salve of my grandma’s Kitchuri will also evoke the feeling of being given a hug for example.
I love reading books weaved together with food memories. For me it is like stepping into another world transported by ingredients and aromas that are mentioned. The covenant of water was a beautiful example of such a book, based in Kerela, with mentions of coconut, rice and jaggery ladened dishes.
Currently I am reading, ‘the queens cook’ a book based on queen Esther’s court of biblical times. The main heroine Roxanna loves to cook, she notes it as a taste of control in a chaotic world. As she talks about the dishes, she weaves in her childhood memories and this Persian love cake caught my imagination. It contains saffron and cardamom, two of my favourite spices known for calming the nervous system. In her recipe she used freshly milled wheat, making a denser cake with a syrup over the top to moisten it. I wanted to make gluten free high protein version, so I used almond flour as the base and eggs to lift it.
Ingredients
4 eggs, separated
2 tbsp. lemon zest
½ cup honey
1 cup almond flour
½ cup ground pistachios
2 tbsp. coconut flour
1 tsp. ground cardamom
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. cream of tartar
Method
Preheat the oven to 350F
Grease a 9-inch cake pan. Set aside
Grind ½ cup pistachios to a course flour. I ground more than I needed and used the rest in oatmeal
Next, separate your eggs, placing the yolks in one bowl and whites in another
Add the lemon zest and honey to the bowl with the egg yolks. Beat with a whisk until smooth and set aside
In a second bowl, combine the almond flour, ground pistachios, coconut flour, cardamom, saffron and baking powder. Mix well then pour the egg yolk mixture and combine well. If the mixture is thick, add a whole egg to loosen the mixture
Now beat the egg whites until bubbles start to appear. Add the vinegar and cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form.
Fold the egg whites carefully into the pistachio-yolk mixture in several additions, handling the batter as little as possible to keep the mixture inflated
Scrape batter into the pan and bake until the top is golden brown and the middle no longer jiggles, c. 25-35 minutes
Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool completely in the pan
Decorate with a little light icing sugar or a rose water cream
‘As each day arises, welcome it as the very best day of all, and make it your own possession. We must seize what flees’ – Seneca
As the days get lighter, and the clocks go forward it reminds us of the change in season from winter to spring. We look forward to the warmer lighter days, but with it comes a reminder that more time has passed. Life is precious and bound in a way we will never know until we do. It is a reminder to me, that every day is a day to look forward to, not just the brighter days.
The recipe
This is a high protein breakfast or snack. Puffed mullet tastes like an adult version of puffed rice and so this treat as Mr. B put it tastes like an adult version of a Rice Krispie treat. It is glued together with a beautiful combination of tahini, vanilla, coconut oil and brown rice syrup. Since the sweetener is mainly brown rice syrup with a little maple, it has a lower glycaemic index. The sesame seeds, tahini and millet add the protein and the coconut flakes extra sweetness. The tahini /sesame is a dominant taste here, so I would say it’s more savoury than sweet to my palate. Mr. B likes it so it must have some sweetness in there too, otherwise he wouldn’t think of it as a ‘treat’.
Yield: 10-15 pieces
Ingredients
1.5 cups puffed millet
1.5 cups dried flaked coconut, toasted
¼ cup sesame seeds, toasted
¼ cup dried rose petals
¼ cup brown rice syrup
2 tbsp. coconut oil, melted
1 tbsp. maple syrup
½ cup tahini
¼ tsp. sea salt
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. rose water
Method
Prepare a pan/casserole dish with parchment paper
Toast the coconut for 5 minutes at 300F or until starting to brown and get fragrant
Toast the sesame seeds for 10 minutes and then turn and toast for another 5-8 minutes until turning brown
Place both to the side to cool
I like to toast more coconut and sesame seeds than I need and store them for other uses
Add the millet, coconut, sesame seeds and rose petals to a medium bowl and mix well to combine
In a small pot add the rice syrup, coconut oil and maple syrup. Bring to a simmer and when you start to see the bubbled, turn off the heat and add the tahini, salt, vanilla and rose water and stir until completely smooth.
Pour into the bowl with the dry mix and stir until well combined
Pour into the prepared dish and place in the freezer to set for 30 minutes or the fridge for 2 hours
I was listening to a podcast by Brianna West the other day entitled, ‘let the heart tell you what and the mind tell you how’. It is about how to uncover your inner most desires, as she calls it, exploring the contours of the heart. I like that metaphor a lot. Uncovering your true calling in life, your Dharma, can be like exploring an unknown terrain. Hilly and steep in some places, dark and foreboding in others but ultimately liberating and beautiful when you start to find what you were looking for, like water in a desert.
I have recently taken on teaching high school students. Friends have asked if I like teaching. I am not sure if I do love the act of teaching. Speaking in front of others has always been hard for me, it takes a lot of energy, and it is something that I need time and space to recover from. So why teach, so many people say. For me it is a way to engage others in conversation, illustrate to them possibilities and concepts that they didn’t think possible and so subtly influence them through exposure to new things. Do I love teaching? I think more so, I like influencing and inspiring. Leaving the people and places I enter a little better off. So maybe the answer is yes, as teaching is a means to that end, a vehicle to extend your heart and love to others.
This recipe was our end of term finale. It is a simple mix and bake. It is a cake recipe, so the donuts are baked. The kids said they preferred them to fried donuts. It also gave me the opportunity to talk about dye free sprinkles and why we might want to use them.
The recipe
Yield: 12 Donuts
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup milk
2 large eggs
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Option 1
1 cup powdered sugar
4-6 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Sprinkles/food coloring (optional)
Option 2
1 cup chocolate chips
1 tsp. coconut oil
Sprinkles (optional)
Option 3
½ cup sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
Method
Preheat the oven to 350F
In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt
Melt the butter and let cool slightly
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, milk, melted butter and vanilla until blended well.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stir until just combined (important). Do not overmix.
Prepare the molds with spray/oil
Spoon the batter into the donut molds or using a spoon or Ziplock/piping bags and pour into the molds till half full.
Bake the donuts for 10-12 minutes or until a pick comes out clean
Let cool for a few minutes then place on a wire rack
Mix together the ingredients for the topping you chose and dip each one in, one at a time
Feel free to top with sprinkles, I like Watkins for dye free sprinkles.
This is a personal invitation to join the beautiful Annie and myself in Cold Springs for a weekend of relaxation and renewal. This retreat is your chance to step away from the demands of daily life and focus entirely on yourself in a supportive, nurturing space.
A few highlights:
Yoga/Pilates – Movement flow in the morning, Pilates in the afternoon and restorative Yin in the evening
Meditation – For those who rise with the sun, Natasha will offer a guided morning meditation
Meals – All meals will be loving prepared by a dedicated chef. The food will be healthy and delicious and leave you feeling refreshed.
Cooking lesson – A cookie lesson and mindful tea ceremony will be run on Saturday afternoon
Kombucha Cocktail Hour – Annie’s artisanal kombucha will be offered for a cocktail hour on Friday and Saturday
Hiking – There will plenty of time for walks and hiking on the 10+ acres on the property
Spa treatments – Our partner Cold Spring Apothecary will offer select appointments for some extra TLC
Below is the link with all the details and the booking form.
‘Stop talking, stop thinking and there is nothing you will not understand’
Food for thought
Like most people I know, I have the drive to take on a lot and fill every moment. It is only when I slow down enough to feel that I can truly make the right decision. The more I slow down, the more silence I can cultivate in this world of overstimulation, the more I can hear my true voice and understand myself. I use meditation for this purpose. It helps me to have a routine set to take time out to try and listen to the silence. My hope is that the silence helps me to prioritise living more fully in the moment and less in the blur of life passing me by.
The recipe
These muffins are moist and light. They are also nut free. They have a sneaky zucchini in them, which you can’t taste. You could substitute carrot in there if you prefer.
Yield: 12 muffins
Ingredients
1 small zucchini
4 eggs
½ cup applesauce
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup coconut flour
¼ cup raw cocoa
3 tbsp. arrowroot powder
1.5 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. sea salt
½ cup chocolate chips
Method
Preheat the oven to 350F
Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners
Grate the zucchini, squeeze out water, sprinkle a little salt and put to the side
Place the eggs, applesauce and maple syrup in a bowl and mix well.
Add the coconut flour, cacao powder, arrowroot, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and mix in
Use paper towel and squeeze out more of the water from the zucchini
Add the zucchini to the batter and mix well
Add the chocolate chips and stir in
Fill the cups halfway and sprinkle remaining choc chips on top
Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean
‘To harm another is to harm oneself. When you heal yourself, you heal the world’ – Yung Pueblo
Food for thought
The Lunar New Year is upon us. This year is the year of the snake, representing a time for personal growth, transformation and shedding bad energy.
When I think of transformation, I think of any inner journey. Your inner world reflects on your outer. The only thing you have control over is you. How you react in the face of change and uncertainty. Change is not easy. That is why I don’t make new year’s resolutions. My aim isn’t to give up one thing. It is to continue to iterate myself and my life at a realistic pace. To know that I am perfect just as I am and to give myself the grace to love all versions of myself. I believe that as I learn compassion for myself, I learn to give it to others. In learning to put less pressure on myself, I adjust my expectation of others. In the end we are all connected, we are not two but one.
The recipe
I taught this recipe to a group of 11-year-olds, who had never tried Bok Choy or heard of 5-spice, and they loved it. It is a 10-minute meal if you need it to be or a 1-hour class, lol. Feel free to add in or change the vegetables with the season.
Ingredients
1lb rice noodles (or spaghetti)
2 tbsp. maple syrup
2 tbsp tamari
2 tbsp. sesame oil
1/4 tsp. 5-spice
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 orange pepper
1 bunch spring onion (green and white used separately)
1 bunch baby boy choi (4 pieces)
2 tablespoons olive oil (for the stir-fry)
Salt to taste
Method
Prepare the noodles: boil some water, pour in a bowl, soak noodles. Set timer.
Once timer goes off, drain in a sieve with small holes, rinse in cold water and put aside.
Whilst waiting for the noodles, wash and dry vegetables. Show bear claw cutting method. Cut end of Bok choy and wash. Cut peppers into thin slices (julienne) and spring onions into round, separate white and green.
Prepare dressing, by mixing all ingredients together (times 2). Put one portion on the noodles, one portion of the dressing on the vegetables when ready.
Show stir-fry technique for vegetables. Stir-fry with olive oil.
Mix veggies and noodles together at the end. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
